Scores of Russian mercenaries reportedly killed by US airstrikes in Syria

Scores of Russian mercenaries were reportedly killed when US forces carried out air strikes against a pro-regime force in eastern Syria last week, according to US and Russian reports.

If the high estimates of Russian casualties are confirmed, it would be the most lethal clash between US and Russian citizens since the end of the cold war, and it comes at a time when proxy forces in Syria are increasingly coming into contact, as they compete for territory vacated by retreating Islamic State militants.